Story Arcs
A Fistful of Beans Introduction to the universe of "Endtown". Al and a partner are topside raiding a store for supplies when the partner attempts to join the Topsider ranks, with fatal results. Al returns to Endtown by himself and must face the wrath of the mob for bringing back more beans. His friend Prof. Mallard has to step in to sell the Endtowners on the benefits of the hated legume. Gustine's Quest Gustine suffers from the fear that she will turn feral as a rampaging 700-pound rhino, and asks an oracle for advice. This results in her and her partner, Al, traveling to the ruins of Hillside City to obtain the fruit of a tree that can solve her problems. Along the way, they befriend Petey and run afoul of the pixel creatures (AKA: Dittos) that have been tormenting Sparkplug Sanders. While fighting Sparkplug, Al needs to rescue Gustine and is killed in the process. Gustine then uses the fruit to save Al, and thus is satisfied in staying as she is. On the way back to Endtown, Gustine, Al and Petey are attacked by Topsiders. Petey is left behind, and Al and Gustine are set up to look like spies leading the Topsiders to Endtown. This leads to an investigation by Capt. Flask intended to find the two as traitors. However, a second trip to the surface reunites Flask and Petey with the revelation that the two used to be partners before Petey was turned into a truck. The arc ends with Petey getting a new body, Al and Gustine being declared innocent, and Flask brooding on her sins. The Ballad of Holly and Wally Wally is a rambling man-cat satisfied with fending for himself in the wastes of Topside. An encounter with Topsiders changes his life and ultimately he is forced to enter Endtown, where he is jumped by two inhabitants hoping to steal any fresh food that he may be carrying. Left with a cerebral contusion, Wally is brought to a hospital by Holly, a mouse waitress who is the only one in Endtown willing to stand by his side. Wally is conflicted about being a human trapped in a cat body and Holly attempts to help him come to terms with his instincts. They find themselves attracted to each other at the end. Countdown The Topsiders build a rocket near Endtown to launch a spy satellite. Knowing that an "eye in the sky" would spell certain doom for the Endtowners, Security Chief Flask is tasked with assembling a small suicide squad consisting of herself, Petey and wildcard Wally, to sabotage the rocket. However, things get complicated and Flask ends up hijacking Aaron Marx's flying ship to crash it into the Topsider outpost instead. Wally intervenes and Flask gets killed, while Marx teleports the others back to safety in Endtown. Homecoming Marx uses a dimensional portal to bring Wally, Holly, Linda, Petey and the Transporter brain back to Endtown. There, he proceeds to terrorize the inhabitants until Mallard intervenes and steals his dimensionometer. Marx agrees to behave and gives the ditto ball to Mallard as a sign of good faith, but he also implies that Flask is dead. Meanwhile, Flask finds herself in limbo alone with Marx. With nothing left to be taken from her, Flask tells Marx how she came to want revenge against the Topsiders so badly. After she bares her soul, Marx makes her current form permanent and returns her to the reincarnation stream to be reborn with her memories intact. Love and Cake Linda Kowalski has completed her three-month indoctrination to Endtown and is installed in a small apartment in a rundown building. With the cheerful assistance of landlady Maude Hefner and unwilling help from Holly, she might survive long enough to get herself killed by accident.